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Lady Elkers defeat Kane, 6-2

Ridgway girls soccer earned its first win of the season in its home opener with a 6-2 victory over Kane Monday afternoon at Francis S. Grandinetti Elementary School. Ridgway opened the season with a 2-1 loss at Curwensville, a team Lady Elker head coach Greg Maddalena thinks is a top team in the district. “It’s a good feeling after that game we had at Curwensville which was an awesome game,” Maddalena said. “They are the team to beat and everyone knows that. They did a phenomenal job down there, I was really impressed with the girls. I told the girls, ‘We’re fine, we’re going to bounce back. We’re going to get our first W and then we’re going to go.’ It’s one game at a time and these girls, they just buy into what we go over and they’re starting to play how they want to play. We actually gave up two goals, it happens, it’s part of the game, we had some mental breakdowns but it’s all positive.” The Lady Elkers offense wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard as senior striker Rhianon Fowler would score on a shot from a poor angle, knocking it in the upper left corner for a 1-0 lead. Ridgway doubled the lead with 17:28 left as Angela DeAngelo was able to skip a shot past the Kane goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead. Shortly after DeAngelo’s goal, Fowler tried a shot from the penalty area which spun to her right. The shot went straight to teammate Kayli Methaney who onetimed it into the lower left corner for a 3-0 lead. Fowler added a goal on a breakaway with 7:14 left in the first half for a 4-0 Ridgway lead. Kane would get on the scoreboard with 4:39 left in the first half as junior Kelsey Johnson took a long chip from Brittany Kowatch and scored on a breakaway. Ridgway took a 4-1 lead into halftime. In the second half, the Lady Elkers would add another goal as senior Abbie Lampman took a shot from the left side and was able to knock it in the net off the post for a 5-1 lead with 20:22 left in the second half. Shortly after, Fowler took a pass from Kassa Kocjancic and completed her hat trick for a 6-1 lead. Maddalena said the variety of players chipping in with goals is a great sign for the team. In addition to Fowler’s three goals, Lampman, Matheney and DeAngelo each had one goal. “That’s the biggest thing I love about this,” Maddalena said. “It’s different contributions which is huge. It’s not always about the striker, all my midfielders have a chance to score. It’s just awesome I get different contributions. It opens up my field.”Kane would add its final goal with 11:04 to play in the second half. A Sara Mohney throw-in would lead to a long run and a goal from junior forward Taylor Bucheit and a 6-2 margin. Johnson also had a good chance for the Lady Wolves in the first half as she hit the crossbar on a free kick from about 25 yards out in the 21st minute of the first half. Ridgway (1-1) is scheduled to host St. Marys at 4 p.m. Wednesday. “We are a very good team, I think we can match what we did last year (14-3 record). They believe we can match what we did last year. They communicate, they know what we want, they buy into it, boom, you win. It’s an awesome feeling, I hope this carries us through.”Ridgway also will play in the Bucktail Tournament this weekend with a 4 p.m. game against Ridgway at Benzinger Park on Friday. “The first round we play ECC, which is going to be challenge,” Maddalena said. “Every game’s going to be a challenge but we’re up for it. I don’t care who we play, we’re going to do the best we can, that’s all I can ask for. It’s a great team this year, a great team.”